Most fiber-coupled laser diode pumps have been developed for large volume industrial applications where the primary metric is price-per-bright-watts and reliability. In conventional high-power fiber laser technology a significant portion of the weight and volume of the total fiber laser system is in the high-powered diode pumps where much of that weight and volume is devoted to waste heat removal. For example, high-powered laser diode pumps are commonly cooled with chilling plates made of highly thermally conductive material such as copper (Cu). This adds significant excess mass and volume to a laser system.
However, in mobile laser applications the key metrics also include volume, weight, and electrical-to-optical power conversion efficiency (PCE). Moreover, industrial diode lasers are approximately ≥1 kg/kW and volumes are greater than two times what would be acceptable for High Energy Laser (HEL) applications. Furthermore, industrial diode lasers are at approximately 50% electrical-to-optical PCE; whereas, HEL applications require PCE≥55%. What is needed is laser diode pumps that are optimized for size, weight and power efficiency in addition to price-per-bright-watts and reliability.